Verizon retirees fight pension shift

Verizon retirees have sued the phone company because it's planning to transfer the responsibility of paying their pensions to an insurance company, where they will have weaker legal protection.

Verizon Communications Inc. said last month that it would transfer $7.5 billion of its pension obligations, covering 41,000 management retirees, to Prudential Insurance. The deal effectively turns the company's defined-benefit pensions into annuities.

Members of the Association of BellTel Retirees note that annuities aren't covered by the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

Randal S. Milch, New York-based Verizon's general counsel, said the suit lacks merit, adding that Prudential has a long history of providing group annuity benefits.

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Verizon retirees fight pension shift

Verizon retirees have sued the phone company because it's planning to transfer the responsibility of paying their pensions to an insurance company, where they will have weaker legal protection.